Thursday, September 2, 2010

So, we are in the midst of "eat everything that will go bad before vacation." There was a bag of tomatillo that I had planned to make salsa with for Matt's lunches. Then Swede Lake Farm gave us some of their tasty salsa & we didn't need anymore. So, I decided to make it into a sauce to use over grilled chicken (ok, basically salsa over chicken). The resident griller wasn't feeling very motivated to leave the air conditioned living house to light the grill & came up the the brilliant idea that I should braise the chicken in the sauce instead. This actually worked so well & created a pretty quick one pot meal. The tomatillo sauce had a nice sweetness with just a touch of heat from the peppers & a little tang from the vinegar. Braising kept the chicken nice & juicy. We ended up taking the meat off the bone & mixing it in with the sauce & rice. I think you could probably do this with your favorite too just add some water if needed.

In an oven proof pan with a lid heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion, garlic & peppers then sauté until the onions are translucent. Stir in the tomatillos & vinegar. Let simmer until the tomatillos are softened & starting to break down, about 15 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Salt & pepper the chicken breasts. Lay the breasts in the pot with the tomatillo mixture. Add enough water so the sauce is covering the chicken breasts about halfway. Cover & put into the oven. Cook for about 20 - 30 minutes until the chicken registers 160 F on a thermometer.